Mira opened the last book, [How to Utilize the Strength of Your Body in Long-Range Fights] that the Sect Master had given her, but there wasn't much to it. It basically just said that if her physical body was strong enough, there was a way to attack her opponent from a distance without Qi.
The way to do this is to strike with overwhelming power. However, the strikes have to be straight and precise-no swinging motions, roundhouse kicks, or anything like that. Doing that would diminish the power one can unleash along with the range of the attack.
Basically, the book is telling Mira to punch so hard in a straight line that the force of the punch travels through the air and hits her target. The best way for Mira to describe it is to combine boxing with a wind tunnel.
Mira was already doing this, but it seemed Sect Master Aelina wanted her to devise ways to incorporate this into her fighting style since punching and kicking with a massive scythe isn't feasible.
Take Nova's Sunfire Sphere Spear Shot as an example. Every time she shot one of those projectiles, it was powered not only by her Qi but also by her physical strength. Thus, her power was amplified even further than it already was.
'So, Aelina is telling me that I'm wasting my potential by not using my body and Qi in tandem by giving me this book.' Mira thought as this book was virtually worthless.
Looking back on it, her spar with Nova was really eye-opening and taught her a lot about how cultivators in this world fight. All of her attacks were sharp, quick, and precise. She had one low-cost but medium damaging technique, a defensive technique, an AOE technique, a technique that boosted her power, and a finishing move. On top of that, Mira was sure Nova had even more than that in her repertoire.
Each of her attacks served a purpose, could be used interchangeably in most scenarios, and synergized exceptionally well.
The odd thing was that Mira didn't find any of those techniques, except for that last one, incredibly powerful. Sure, they were powerful, but they weren't something she couldn't accomplish either. In fact, she was sure she could be even more powerful than that!
'I guess I'll need to try and come up with a few techniques that will synergize well with each other in this month that I have to train.' Mira thought with a smile.
She was glad that Aelina had given her those two other books as she could already think of a few techniques that would work quite well with one another. Now, it was only a matter of putting her thoughts into practice.
'I'll focus on creating my own synergistic attacks after I finish reading through everything. For now, I should focus on what will probably help me the most in this upcoming mission.'
Mira pulled out the [Charm Control Manual] and the [Illusion Control Manual] and began reading through them.
It took her about an hour to read through them, and she couldn't help but feel enlightened about how she should use her two tails that focus on those elements going forward.
At their core, Illusions and Charm aren't that different. They both affect the mind and try to make someone believe something that isn't necessarily real. The only real difference between the two is that illusions are there to trick the mind, while Charming is the act of controlling one's mind.
Or one could also interpret that illusions affect one's perception of the world while Charms affect one's perception of the person doing the charming.
However, charming someone has less to do with Qi and more to do with external factors. Qi is only there to enhance the effects of one's charm.
For example, a woman having a sexy body and showing lots of skin is attractive and "charming" to most men. Such a woman wouldn't need anything other than do a little dance, maybe show off too much skin, and give a few compliments, and she could have the average man wrapped around her finger.
If she were to add Qi into the mix, she could essentially dominate their mind to the point that they perceive her as their god, their highest priority, even above their own lives!
Using Qi to increase the effects of a woman's charm can also help them reach some of the more stoic and mentally tough men.
However, the foundation of Charm is, well, being charming.
An overweight woman with a face that looked like it got hit by a ton of bricks and a voice that sounds like a pig isn't that charming to men. Even if such a woman used a Charm Technique, her capabilities would still be limited in this area.
Maybe they could charm a male pig or, if they're lucky, a steed, but it'd be hard for them to charm their own race.
For this reason, the Fox Race is notorious for charming people as they are one of the most attractive species in the world, in both their beast and human forms. Who doesn't like soft, squishy, curvacious, and beautiful women? Hell, they are so attractive that they can even charm those of the same gender!
With all that being said, the [Charm Control Manual] talked less about how she can control her Qi to charm people and more about how she can elevate her image in the minds of others. This included but was not limited to, releasing pheromones that stimulated one's sex drive, being more sensual and provocative, wearing outfits that accentuated one's curves and speaking in a voice that would make any man melt.
If Mira could master these, she would be 75% of the way there to control her target's mind without needing Qi.
To complete that last 25%, she has to insert a bit of Qi inside her target's mind with the intent of her being the most important entity in their life. Once that happens, Mira will essentially gain control over her target's mind.
Of course, there are more advanced charming techniques that could even make an ugly pig seem like the most beautiful goddess, but those are the basics.
'It's really not that complicated to charm someone, and with my looks and tail, it becomes even easier. It's probably my one ability that has nothing to do with my cultivation realm.' Mira thought and was looking forward to putting this new knowledge into practice.
Illusions, on the other hand, are slightly different. While charming someone is about implanting an idea into someone's brain, illusions are more about externalizing an image from your own brain.
On the surface, that sounds very similar to just normal Qi manipulation, but it's very different. At least Qi manipulation affects reality, but illusions are fake yet should be indistinguishable from what's real.
However, that's easier said than done. There's a reason why Mira's mastery of illusions isn't very high, and that's because she doesn't know much about the complexities that go into creating them.
The foundation of the [Illusion Control Manual] is that a good illusion is one that can fool the enemy, a great illusion is one that can fool your allies, and a perfect illusion is one that can fool yourself!
For example, let's say Mira wanted to cover all her tails in an illusion, so they all look black to the outside world.
A good illusion could fool others at a glance, but if they looked closely, they might be able to spot some inconsistencies and understand that it was fake. A great one would go a layer deeper so that even when they are stared at or even stroked, they all feel the same.
However, a perfect one is when Mira can't even distinguish between the real black tail and the fake ones. The touch, smell, weight, look, and even taste of the tails are all the same. If it got to the point that she forgot which one was real, that'd be a perfect illusion.
But in order to do that, she would need to have a very deep understanding of her black tail.
That's where the complexities of illusions come into play because it's not just about sight. A perfect illusion should be able to fool all the senses!
Of course, not every illusion needs to be perfect. If Mira shot a volley of ice shards at someone, but half of them were fake, she didn't need them all to be perfect. She just needed the two to look similar.
There were a lot of things that went into creating illusions that Mira wasn't even aware of until now, but she felt glad she purchased the [Illusion Control Manual] as she could already imagine how useful this ability would be in the future.
After digesting all this information, Mira put the two manuals up and pulled out the books that she was the most excited to read and comprehend.
